River Murray Weekly Report
For the week ending Wednesday, 09 May2018
Trim Ref:D12/18092
Rainfall and Inflows
It was fine and dry across the Murray-Darling Basin for the majority of the past week following rain that was recorded mostly on 3 May with the passage of a trough. This system brought some rainfall to parts of south-eastern, eastern and northern regions of the Basin(Map 1). Highest totals for the week included 35 mm at Beruna and 27 mm at Havelock in the north of the Basin; 35 mm at Barraba and 22 mm at Dubbo in NSW; and 33 mm at Rocky Valley and 32 mm at Mt Hotham in the Victorian high country. The rain outlook for the Basin during the coming week is predominantly dry.
Most tributaries in the upper Murray catchments experienced a small rise in flows following the rain early in the week before receding away over the days that followed. For example, on the Mitta Mitta River, the flow at Hinnomunjie increased from 500 to 850 ML/day and is now back to 500 ML/day. On the upper RiverMurray, the flow at Biggara increased from 1,200 to 1,800 ML/day before receding to 1,200 ML/day. On the Ovens River, the flow at Rocky Point rose from 1,500 to 1,750 ML/day but has now eased back to 1,450 ML/day.
Map 1 - Murray-Darling Basin rainfall for the week ending 9th May 2012 (Source: Bureau of Meteorology).
River Operations
MDBA active storage increased again this week, rising by 104 GL to 7,520 GL (87%). At Dartmouth Reservoir, the storage volume increased by 9 GL to 3,209 GL (83% capacity). The release remains at the normal minimum of 200 ML/day. At Hume Reservoir, the storage volume increased by 17 GL to 2,626 GL (87% capacity). The release from Hume Dam was increased slightly during the mid part of the week in response to the dry weather and slightly higher late season irrigation demands. The current target downstream of the dam is 7,300 ML/day at Doctors Point, however with irrigation diversions at the main extraction points scheduled to drop away as the season draws to an end, releases at Hume can be expected to be decreased in the coming days.
At Lake Mulwala, the pool level is currently 124.67 m AHD or 23 cm below full supply. Diversions have averaged 3,500 ML/day at Mulwala Canal and 600 ML/day at the Yarrawonga Main Channel. Irrigation diversions from the lake are expected to be completed for the season by the end of next week. Release from Yarrawonga Weir is currently 6,000 ML/day and is expected to be decreased by about 300 ML/day over the coming days.
At the Edward River and Gulpa Creek offtakes, diversions have reduced slightly over the past week. A further reduction in flow towards the seasonal minimums will take place over the next few weeks if dry conditions persist. At Stevens Weir, the pool level is currently 4.67 m and the downstream flow is 1,500 ML/day. The release is broadly expected to decrease over the coming weeks although small temporary rises in flow may occur as the end of season drainage of irrigation channelsresults in return flows back to the river. Further downstream, flows continue to recede on all gauges along the lower Edward-Wakool system. At Kyalite, the flow has dropped back to around 5,000 ML/day.
On the Goulburn River, the flow at McCoys has remained above 6,000 ML/day for most of the week, however a recession in flows has now been observed and, without reasonable rainfall, the flow should continue to fall away over the coming week. At Torrumbarry Weir, the flow dipped below 10,000 ML/day mid-week as expected, however the river has since increased to a flow of 10,200 ML/day with the addition of higher flow from the Goulburn. The flow is now expected to drop back towards 9,000 ML/day with National Channel diversions increasing to 3,100 ML/day before the irrigation season finishes next week.
On the Murrumbidgee River, the flow at Balranald has continued to fall away after the recent flood peak. The current flow is 18,000 ML/day and should be below 15,000 ML/day sometime next week.
At Euston, the Murray continues to recede slowly, with the current flow at 34,200 ML/day. Flows below 30,000 ML/day are not expected until the middle of next week.
On the Darling River, flows continue to fall away upstream of Menindee Lakes. At Bourke, the flow has now receded for about 9 weeks since the 237,000 ML/day flood peak in early March. The current flow is now 3,600 ML/day and with conditions typically staying dry in the northern Basin during the winter months, the flow should continue to slowly drop away. At Menindee Lakes, inflows have held on well as flood water drains back in off the Darling River and Talyawalka Creek flood plains. Average inflows during the week decreased from 49,000 to 35,000 ML/day and will continue falling away over the coming weeks. The combined volume of the lakes increased by a further 82 GL this week, and the total storage of 2,009 GL (116%) is just below the full surcharge level. Release from Menindee (measured at Weir 32) has been held at around 19,000 ML/day, but may be decreased during the coming week if the inflow recession allows.
Downstream on the lower Darling, the flow at Burtundy has remained steady at just under 20,000 ML/day throughout the week at what appears to be a broad peak. For further information on the flood operations at Menindee Lakes, please refer to the NSW Office of Water website ( with details available at
At Wentworth, flows have also remained steady during the week and the pool level is 21 cm above the normal operating level. The flow is currently just under 58,000 ML/day, but has begun what is expected to be a long recession over coming weeks. Downstream at Lock 9, essential maintenance, scheduled to begin on 21 May will result in the lock being closed for 12 weeks.(See the attached media release for further details).
At Lake Victoria, the storage volume decreased by 4 GL to 350 GL (52%) and the flow to South Australia averaged 55,000 ML/day.
Downstream at Lock 1, the flow remains above 50,000 ML/day delivering high inflows to the Lower Lakes and into the Coorong. At the Barrages, operations continue to pass high flows, whilst managing short periods of reverse head (when downstream level due to tide and storm surge may exceed upstream level). There were high tides again over the last week, however favourable weather conditions meanta number of Barrage gates at Goolwa and Mundoo could be left opened, withgates at Mundoo closed down for a few hours on several days during high tide.Lake levels remainedrelatively steady with the 5 day average level for Lake Alexandrina at 0.71 m AHD.Forecast weather and swell conditions mean gates at Goolwa and Mundoo may be closed for several days this week.
For media inquiries contact the Media Officeron 02 6279 0141
DAVID DREVERMAN
Executive Director, River Management
Water in Storage Week ending Wednesday 09 May 2012
MDBA Storages / Full Supply Level / Full Supply Volume / Current Storage Level / Current / Storage / Dead Storage / Active Storage / Change in Total Storage for the Week(m AHD) / (GL) / (m AHD) / (GL) / % / (GL) / (GL) / (GL)
Dartmouth Reservoir / 486.00 / 3 856 / 475.57 / 3 209 / 83% / 71 / 3 138 / +9
Hume Reservoir / 192.00 / 3 005 / 190.04 / 2 626 / 87% / 23 / 2 603 / +17
Lake Victoria / 27.00 / 677 / 24.05 / 350 / 52% / 100 / 250 / -4
Menindee Lakes / 1 731* / 2 009 / 116% / (480 #) / 1 529 / +82
Total / 9 269 / 8 194 / 88% / - - / 7 520 / +104
Total Active MDBA Storage / 87% ^
Major State Storages
Burrinjuck Reservoir / 1 026 / 963 / 94% / 3 / 960 / -7
Blowering Reservoir / 1 631 / 1 527 / 94% / 24 / 1 503 / -8
Eildon Reservoir / 3 334 / 2 802 / 84% / 100 / 2 702 / -25
*Menindee surcharge capacity – 2050 GL ** All Data is rounded to nearest GL **
# NSW takes control of Menindee Lakes when storage falls below 480 GL, and control reverts to MDBA when storage next reaches 640 GL
^ % of total active MDBA storage
Snowy Mountains Scheme Snowy diversions for week ending 08 May 2012
Storage / Active Storage (GL) / Weekly Change (GL) / Diversion (GL) / This Week / From 1 May 2012Lake Eucumbene - Total / 2 481 / n/a / Snowy-Murray / +34 / 35
Snowy-Murray Component / 886 / n/a / Tooma-Tumut / +5 / 6
Target Storage / 1 290 / Net Diversion / 29 / 30
Murray 1 Release / +32 / 36
Major Diversions from Murray and Lower Darling (GL) *
New South Wales / This Week / From 1 July 2011 / Victoria / This Week / From 1 July 2011Murray Irrig. Ltd (Net) / 19.3 / 1055 / Yarrawonga Main Channel (net) / 2.7 / 198
Wakool Sys Allowance / 0.0 / 22 / Torrumbarry System + Nyah (net) / 13.9 / 529
Western Murray Irrigation / 0.2 / 21 / Sunraysia Pumped Districts / 0.3 / 88
Licensed Pumps / 1.8 / 183 / Licensed pumps - GMW (Nyah+u/s) / 2.4 / 54
Lower Darling / 7.0 / 280 / Licensed pumps - LMW / 1.2 / 261
TOTAL / 28.3 / 1561 / TOTAL / 20.5 / 1130
* Figures derived from estimates and monthly data. Please note that not all data may have been available at the time of creating this report.
** All data above is rounded to nearest 100 ML for weekly data and nearest GL for cumulative data**
Flow to South Australia (GL)* Flow to SA will be greater than entitlement for April due to Unregulated Flows and Additional Dilution Flow. / Entitlement this month / 93.0 *
Flow this week / 385.3 / (55 000 ML/day)
Flow so far this month / 492.8
Flow last month / 1,778.8
Salinity (EC) (microSiemens/cm at 25o C)
Current / Average over the last week / Average since 1 August 2011Swan Hill / 90 / 110 / 130
Euston / 180 / 190 / 140
Red Cliffs / 190 / 190 / 160
Merbein / 160 / 160 / 140
Burtundy (Darling) / 300 / 300 / 350
Lock 9 / 220 / 220 / 190
Lake Victoria / 250 / 230 / 220
Berri / 260 / 260 / 250
Waikerie / - / - / -
Morgan / 290 / 280 / 280
Mannum / - / 200 / 410
Murray Bridge / 350 / 330 / 350
Milang (Lake Alex.) / 590 / 650 / 550
Poltalloch (Lake Alex.) / 270 / 290 / 350
Meningie (Lake Alb.) / 4 670 / 4 670 / 5 010
Goolwa Barrages / 450 / 420 / 1 470
River Levels and Flows Week ending Wednesday 09 May 2012
Minor Flood Stage / Gauge / Height / Flow / Trend / Average Flow this Week / Average Flow last WeekRiver Murray / (m) / local (m) / (m AHD) / (ML/day) / (ML/day) / (ML/day)
Khancoban / - / - / - / 3 210 / F / 5 850 / 3 270
Jingellic / 4.0 / 1.89 / 208.41 / 6 050 / F / 8 490 / 4 680
Tallandoon ( Mitta Mitta River ) / 4.2 / 1.49 / 218.38 / 660 / S / 710 / 710
Heywoods / 5.5 / 2.32 / 155.95 / 6 790 / F / 6 990 / 7 090
Doctors Point / 5.5 / 2.40 / 150.87 / 7 870 / S / 8 280 / 8 700
Albury / 4.3 / 1.37 / 148.81 / - / - / - / -
Corowa / 3.8 / 2.11 / 128.13 / 8 490 / F / 8 590 / 8 110
Yarrawonga Weir (d/s) / 6.4 / 1.11 / 116.15 / 6 000 / F / 6 680 / 7 570
Tocumwal / 6.4 / 1.83 / 105.67 / 6 690 / F / 7 100 / 7 630
Torrumbarry Weir (d/s) / 7.3 / 3.15 / 81.70 / 10 210 / S / 10 090 / 10 440
Swan Hill / 4.5 / 1.75 / 64.67 / 8 400 / F / 8 780 / 8 130
Wakool Junction / 8.8 / 5.08 / 54.20 / 17 480 / F / 18 420 / 20 000
Euston Weir (d/s) / 8.8 / 4.60 / 46.44 / 34 200 / F / 36 110 / 37 640
Mildura Weir (d/s) / - / - / - / - / - / -
Wentworth Weir (d/s) / 7.3 / 6.08 / 30.84 / 57 800 / S / 58 230 / 56 600
Rufus Junction / - / 7.11 / 24.04 / 55 050 / S / 55 050 / 55 780
Blanchetown (Lock 1 d/s) / - / 3.31 / - / 53 400 / S / 53 590 / 52 770
Tributaries
Kiewa at Bandiana / 2.7 / 1.30 / 154.53 / 990 / R / 1 110 / 1 400
Ovens at Wangaratta / 11.9 / 8.45 / 146.13 / 1 780 / R / 1 780 / 1 570
Goulburn at McCoys Bridge / 9.0 / 4.26 / 95.68 / 6 490 / F / 6 360 / 5 530
Edward at Stevens Weir (d/s) / - / 1.66 / 81.43 / 1 510 / F / 1 880 / 2 390
Edward at Liewah / - / 3.60 / 58.98 / 3 550 / F / 3 910 / 5 610
Wakool at Stoney Crossing / - / 1.83 / 55.32 / 1 490 / R / 1 420 / 2 530
Murrumbidgee at Balranald / 5.0 / 6.39 / 62.35 / 18 010 / F / 20 380 / 27 030
Barwon at Mungindi / - / 3.18 / - / 40 / S / 90 / 60
Darling at Bourke / - / 4.55 / - / 3 620 / F / 4 400 / 6 260
Darling at Burtundy Rocks / - / 7.40 / - / 19 890 / S / 19 910 / 19 840
Natural Inflow to Hume / 6 490 / 6 400
(i.e. Pre Dartmouth & Snowy Mountains scheme)
Weirs and LocksPool levels above or below Full Supply Level (FSL)
Murray / FSL (m AHD) / u/s / d/s / FSL (m AHD) / u/s / d/sYarrawonga / 124.90 / -0.23 / - / No. 7 Rufus River / 22.10 / +2.02 / +4.80
No. 26 Torrumbarry / 86.05 / +0.00 / - / No. 6 Murtho / 19.25 / +0.08 / +3.01
No. 15 Euston / 47.60 / +0.08 / - / No. 5 Renmark / 16.30 / -0.06 / +2.74
No. 11 Mildura / 34.40 / +0.06 / +2.05 / No. 4 Bookpurnong / 13.20 / +0.64 / +3.97
No. 10 Wentworth / 30.80 / +0.21 / +3.44 / No. 3 Overland Corner / 9.80 / +0.16 / +3.53
No. 9 Kulnine / 27.40 / +0.26 / +2.99 / No. 2 Waikerie / 6.10 / +0.94 / +3.64
No. 8 Wangumma / 24.60 / +1.25 / +3.66 / No. 1 Blanchetown / 3.20 / +0.31 / +2.56
Lower LakesFSL = 0.75 m AHD
Lake Alexandrina average level for the past 5 days (m AHD) / 0.71Barrages Fishways at Barrages
Openings / Level (m AHD) / No. Open / Rock Ramp / Vertical SlotGoolwa / 128 openings / 0.61 / 80 / - / Open
Mundoo / 26 openings / 0.69 / 6 / - / -
Boundary Creek / 6 openings / - / 1 / - / -
Ewe Island / 111 gates / - / 52 / - / -
Tauwitchere / 322 gates / 0.72 / 85 / Open / Open
AHD = Level relative to Australian Height Datum, i.e. height above sea level
GPO Box 1801 Canberra ACT 2601Telephone: 02 6279 0100Facsimile: 02 6248 8053
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Email: Web: ABN 13679821382
Week ending Wednesday 09 May 2012
State Allocations (as at 09 May 2012)
NSW - Murray Valley / Victorian - Murray ValleyHigh security / 100%
General security / 100%
/ High reliability / 100%
Low reliability / 0%
NSW – MurrumbidgeeValley / Victorian - GoulburnValley
High security / 100%
General security / 100%
/ High reliability / 100%
Low reliability / 0%
NSW - Lower Darling / South Australia – MurrayValley
High security / 100%
General security / 100%
/ High security / 100%
NSW : /
VIC : /
SA : /
Lock 9 to close for maintenance
River Murray users will not be able to pass through Lock 9 at Cullulleraine for up to 12 weeks from May 21 while essential maintenance work is undertaken by SA Water on behalf of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA).
Lock 9 is located about 100 kilometres east of Renmark, on the NSW/Victoria border. The lock closure is part of a six-year maintenance program on all of the locks along the river.
This is the first time the Lock 9 chamber has been emptied since the late 1960s when the wooden gates were replaced with steel. The empty lock chamber will allow SA Water to undertake a comprehensive inspection and maintenance program of the underwater components.
Although users will not be able to travel the full length of the river during this period, they will still be able to enjoy using the river either upstream or downstream of Lock 9.
The grounds and facilities around the lock will also be closed to the general public and will reopen following completion of the maintenance works.
Works to be carried out on Lock 9 include:
•building temporary dams on the upstream and downstream ends of the lock chamber;
•emptying the lock chamber of water;
•inspecting and repainting the lock chamber gates;
•inspecting and repainting the large valves which control the flow of water into and out of the lock
chamber;
•inspecting the chamber floor; and
•any repairs on components which would normally be submerged.
Consultation with River Murray tourism operators has helped to develop the works program to minimise the interruption.
The community will be notified when the lock chamber is back in operation or if there is a significant change to this plan. The locks and weirs have been operating for more than 80 years and this essential work will ensure that they continue to operate for a long time to come.
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